What is Digital Marketing?
Marketing that makes use of electronic devices for communicating promotional messages to the target audience. In other words, marketing done digitally, is what we call digital marketing. For this purpose, it makes use of digital channels like websites, social media platforms, mobile devices, search engines and various other channels.
Simply put, digital marketing is the process of promoting and selling products and services by using online marketing channels including social media, email and search marketing.
So, digital marketing is a broad term that encompasses the marketing of products and services using digital technology. Further, the use of digital marketing relies upon the marketing objectives of the organization:
- The company wants to generate leads
- Create brand awareness
- Increase sales
- Promote products and services
The idea behind digital marketing is the use of various tactics and channels for connecting with the audience where they spend most of their time.
It is used for promoting brands to connect with potential customers through the internet. It is just one more way through which companies can connect with the audience.
Do you know that in the era of digitalization, most companies are using digital means to promote their product and services? This is happening because people spend most of their time using smartphones for different purposes like when they want to order food or when they want to read news. So, there is a rising trend of mobile users.
Therefore, it is beneficial for companies to market products digitally rather than using traditional means. So, companies plan their marketing strategies in a way that makes their digital presence worthwhile. The only reason is the large pool of audience that a company can reach using digital marketing.
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Types of Digital Marketing
It encompasses marketing campaigns that you encounter on PCs, smartphones, tablets and other digital devices. It can be in the form of notifications, display ads, text messages, emails, video ads, sponsored social ads, social media posts etc. People also call it online marketing. It includes:
Search Engine Marketing
SEM or Search Engine Marketing is a technique of marketing in which businesses use paid ads which appear at the top of the Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs) when a user types specific keywords.
Content Marketing
A kind of marketing which encompasses developing and sharing online content like posts, videos, etc. It does not promote any brand. However, it is meant to create interest in its products and services.
Social Media Marketing
It is a type of digital marketing that makes use of social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc. to achieve the marketing objectives of the company.
Influencer Marketing
It is a kind of marketing that makes use of endorsements and product mentions from people having dedicated social followings, i.e. influencers. These influencers are said to be quite popular in the specific niche.
E-commerce Marketing
A process in which businesses use promotional strategy for increasing traffic to the e-commerce store and converting them. Also, it involves remarketing to retain these customers after purchase.
Search Engine Optimization
The process of increasing the number of visitors to a specific website by making it search engine friendly. It ensures that the website appears on the top results in the Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs).
Display Advertising
Online advertisement is a mix of text, images, videos and URL that redirects to a website, where the customer can land by clicking on it and learn more about the products.
Email Marketing
Marketing in which businesses send an email to customers who are on their mailing list. These emails are sent to make customers aware of the new products and services, deals and discounts.
Video Marketing
A form of marketing that uses compelling video content for promoting customers about the brand and products. With video marketing companies can expand their potential audience and increase the attention of the audience.
Contextual Advertising
As the name suggests, when businesses place ads on the basis of the content of those pages. It is possible by way of contextual targeting on the advertising network. In this, the ads are placed based on the parameters like keywords or the topic.
Affiliate Marketing
A form of marketing wherein online businesses pays money to an external website for the traffic driven by its referrals.
Mobile Marketing
Marketing form in which businesses send personalized messages to the customers who have shared their details with the company. The messages are sent through SMS, WhatsApp or push notifications.
Benefits of Digital Marketing
- Increased Recognition: As you all know, we spend most of our time using smartphones and laptops. So, logically we are interacting with the digital world every now and then. In such a situation, it is always better for all companies to use such a medium that helps us reach the maximum audience. Digital Marketing is the one-stop solution for all business-related activities.
- More inbound traffic: Every company is striving for creating a digital footprint, on all the platforms. This is important and necessary because companies want to reach the audience in all possible ways and means. This is an opportunity for the companies to connect with the people with their content and develop a connection with them.
- Higher levels of customer satisfaction: With every interaction with customers online, companies see an opportunity to understand their needs, likes and dislikes in a better way. In fact, businesses can quickly address the issues of people by using digital means. We all are consumers and we all are quite aware that we prefer buying products of those companies which are good at satisfying their customers and providing better customer support.
- Increased brand loyalty: Every company wants and looks for developing a customer base that is loyal and does not easily switch to other brands. In the era of digitalization, companies perceive social platforms as a window to check the worthiness of their brand among people. It is also a way to engage with people. Research has shown that people are more loyal to those brands with which they can associate directly.
- Cost Effectiveness: It is a cost-effective advertising strategy. However, digital marketing does needs experts to design and develop content that will be meaningful to the customers. The overall impact of the content is inexpensive per customer.
- New ways to know the industry: By monitoring the activities on social media profiles, companies can understand the needs, preferences and interests of the customer, which might not be available otherwise. For businesses, insights about the industry can help in market segmentation, product development, channel strategy and brand positioning.
- Demonstration of expertise: Digital content that is informative, interesting and educational can assist in decision-making. This will help in increasing credibility and build a reputated brand.
Wrap Up
In a nutshell, digital marketing involves the development and dissemination of content using digital channels. It makes use of online technology for achieving business goals. It has emerged as a tool to facilitate and devise the art of reaching customers in a meaningful way.
